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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. bore — to drill
  5. bass — low music
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. clip — to cut
  10. shower — rain
  11. prune — to trim
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. shower — to wash
  14. pound — a weight
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. bass — the fish
  19. bore — to tire
  20. clip — for paper
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. kick — in football
  23. clip — a video
  24. prune — to trim

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com